One of the biggest keys to getting a defense prepared for a big game is the scout team. If Georgia Tech has a lot of success stopping Virginia Tech on Saturday night, some of the credit should go to scout team quarterback David Sims who emulated Hokie quarterback Tyrod Taylor in practice all week. Defensive Coordinator Dave Wommack says David gave them a good look this week in practice.

"I really like David because he will come out there and give you a good look no matter who it is. He works hard and is a pretty good athlete. I don't know if he is in Tyrod's class, but he gives us a good look."

For Sims, running the scout team is a fun way to pass the time during his redshirt year and chance to do some things he does not normally get to do in Paul Johnson's triple option offense.

"It is fun getting to do some things you did back in high school trying to get our defense prepared for a scrambler," Sims said. "Anytime you get a chance to air it out it is always fun. It was pretty fun this week."

Sims says he feels like he is getting better at reading defenses by running the scout team offense.

"You get a chance to read a lot of defenses and things like that," Sims said. "We don't give the same defensive look, we get running our offense, but I think it still helps."

After watching the Florida State game from home, the scout team players wanted to try even harder to help get the defense ready for Virginia Tech.

"It was a pretty good shootout. I am a fan of offense and I love seeing points scored. We got to see a lot of points put up, so that was good, but it was not good for our defense," Sims said. "It was good to see our offense play like that because we had our struggles."

When Sims is not running the scout team, he is a focused on learning the offense and trying to follow in the footsteps of the top two quarters Josh Nesbitt and Jaybo Shaw.

"A lot of the things Josh does on the field, I try to emulate. It is the same thing with Jaybo," Sims said. "Jaybo runs the system just as well as Josh. I try to watch those guys and do the same type of things."

Like Shaw and Nesbitt during their first year in the system, Sims says the biggest hurdle learning the triple option is knowing how all the moving parts work together on each play so you can make the proper read and move in the right direction.

"I need to work on knowing where everything is, making my checks, making my reads and making sure we are in the right play at the right time, so I can make good decisions," he said.

After coming in this summer a little overweight, Sims has trimmed down significantly and has hit his target weight.

"I have lost 13 pounds since I got here and I am down to 220 right now," Sims said. "They said they want me between 220 and 215. I will probably get down to 215 by the end of the year."